Candidates Should Mobilize Students for Education Reform Now

John Edwards and Barack Obama released their education plans this week. Both are proposing solid first steps to reduce the burden that rising tuition places on students and eliminate some of the most egregious abuses of the government/corporate lending system.

The plans are both good (and I'll post a head to head review of both plans later this week) but I'd like to see the candidates take it a step further.

As Jonathan Singer and Peter Levine have both noted, Obama and Edwards are taking a somewhat original approach to organizing their campaigns. In addition to asking for traditional campaign support - volunteer hours, donations, and local organizing - these campaigns are asking their supporters to take action on specific policy issues. John Edwards has been doing this for months - indeed, his entire campaign is designed around the idea that he and his supporters need to be the change they want to see. That's the whole idea behind OneCorps, Edwards' dual community service/campaign organization. So far, OneCorps has asked members to support the troops by stopping the war and reduce their carbon footprint, among other actions. Barack Obama's campaign seems to be following suit. He recently asked his supporters to contact their Senators and Congressmen to end the war. In short, these candidates are organizing their followers to impact policy before they are elected to higher office as a way of campaigning to attain that office.

Nobody's hit a home run with this type of organizing yet, but so far I like it. Seeing a candidate engage in direct action before attaining higher office can help defuse the initial skepticism of politicians and politics that many voters - particularly younger voters - feel. These action campaigns show voters that the candidates are about more than words. This isn't "trust what I say, not what I do." Rather than force voters to take it on faith that a candidate will live up to his/her rhetoric once they are in office, these campaigns are showing now how they would act on some of the major issues of the day for young voters.

That's why, following on the release of their education plans, I'd like to see these - and all - candidates organize students to take action on two major policy proposals new before Congress: the Student Loan Sunshine Act and the renewal of the Higher Education Act (pdf).

Here's what I think that would look like:

• Create a campaign to lobby congress. This will include talking points and an easy way for students to contact their representatives. These should be in print format and video format (like this video by Students for a Sensible Drug Policy) and they should take into account the concerns of student groups like USSA and SSDP who have solid ideas about HEA reform.
  
• Promote this campaign on the campaign blog, website and through FaceBook and MySpace. Have your supporters post the videos to their profiles on MySpace and share them through FaceBook to populate the newsfeeds your their social networks.
• Organize direct action on campuses. Remember that this isn't purely a legislative issue. Universities choose whether to participate in the corrupt FFEL loan program or the more efficient Direct Loan program.
  Get students to hold events outside the financial aid office.
• Take advantage of Campus Progress's Campus Action Guide - it's a smart document that will teach your supporters how to organize on campus in favor of fair lending practices.
• Give your campus supporters a free hand in deciding local tactics and messaging. The Campus Progress guide and your own high-level messages are just a base of knowledge. These students know their campuses and what will generate excitement among the student body better than you do. Turning over some message control to local organizers is what will make this campaign spread beyond the usual suspects on campus.
• Piggy back on the existing media frenzy. This has been a big issue in the news, and more opportunities will arise to get media attention on campus and nationally as investigations continue and as the HEA renewal and Student Loan Sunshine Act move through congress and the likely conference to reconcile House and Senate versions.
• Start organizing this now. The semester is over, but at this point, most campaigns should have contacts and organizers on college campuses. Thanks to FaceBook, you can keep tabs on these supporters and create coherent campus actions despite the fact that supporters may be geographically dispersed. You could easily run some online actions now, while folks are just getting into the swing of summer.
• Make this a priority in the fall. The summer is just a teaser. You've got 2 months to plan out a massive campaign for the Fall semester - to make videos, create talking points, put together a rollout strategy, etc. Hit the ground running as soon as Freshman orientations start and make sure you've got a huge presence during campus activity fairs early in the semester.

It's good to see candidates paying attention to the concerns of young voters. And its equally good to see candidates leveraging their grasssroots support to act on major policy issues. Now let's see candidates put those two together and really take a stand for our generation.